The Beginning of Everything
by jenhen48
Summary: Takes place right after The Penderwicks in Spring. Jeffrey has made his feelings clear and Skye wants nothing to do with them. But when he ends up taking someone else to his senior prom, Skye realizes that maybe she made a mistake. Maybe starting something with Jeffrey wouldn't be the end of their friendship. Maybe it would be the beginning, the beginning of everything.


Skye burst into her house, giddy from the after school soccer game she'd just finished and still excited from the A she'd gotten on her calculus test that day. Everything that week had been perfect, which Skye knew was statistically unlikely and meant something bad would soon be happening. However, in that moment Skye was so happy that for once she didn't wonder what the probability was of when the next bad thing would happen or what it would be. She was content to just enjoy her Friday night in peace. It was nearing the end of the school year and after the past few weeks she was looking forward to an uneventful weekend, one for just her and her family. It would be the first weekend for a long time without stupid drama and even worse, boys with feelings. Skye went to bed feeling relaxed, her tired muscles helping pull her into a deep and dreamless sleep from which she never wanted to wake up.

All too soon, morning came and Skye was awakened by Jane, furiously scribbling in her notebook. At least she'd stopped talking out loud as she wrote. After years of Skye throwing numerous things at her, once managing to ricochet a shoe off the wall, almost breaking Jane's computer, the younger Penderwick had finally leaned to give more respect to her older sister's sleep schedule.

With a groan Skye rolled over, trying to drift back off to sleep. Before she could even close her eyes, their bedroom door was thrown open and Batty was standing there, looking way too chipper for the early hour.

"What?" Skye growled, none too happy to have to get up now.

"Do you know what's happening today?" Batty squealed, looking ecstatic.

"It's the day I finally kill you for waking me up so early?" Skye suggested, sitting up and yawning.

"No! Jeffrey's coming today!" Batty did a little dance as she left the room, beaming.

Jane turned worried eyes to Skye and the blonde called out, "Wait! Batty, come back! What did you say?"

"I said Jeffrey's coming! He left Boston already and he'll be here in an hour."

"But _why_ is Jeffrey coming?" Skye demanded, blue eyes flashing. This was supposed to be a weekend without boy drama and here was Jeffrey coming to ruin it all.

"Because of my concert tonight," Batty informed her, "you said he's not banned anymore." Batty added the last part as a whisper, scared Skye would change her mind.

Skye groaned. She had said that last weekend when she'd brought Jeffrey there for Batty's birthday. She had realized that it wasn't fair of her to deprive her whole family of Jeffrey just because of the stupid things going on between the two of them. They were best friends and had been for years, there was no way they could work out their issues if they never saw each other. Besides, if Jeffrey was there maybe Skye could make him fall _out_ of love with her. They'd been friends for years without bringing romance into it so maybe this weekend was her chance to finally show Jeffrey that he could get over his feelings and become her best friend once more.

"He gave me his phone number last weekend," Batty continued talking, "he said I could use it for whatever I needed so I invited him to come tonight, and he said yes. Daddy said he could spend the night so he'll be here the whole weekend!"

Then Batty left the room for good, leaving just Skye and Jane to stare at each other.

"Will you be okay?" Jane asked.

Skye thought that a very stupid question, "Of course I will!" she snorted.

That was all the encouragement Jane needed. Her face broke into a grin as she got out of bed to ready herself for the day. She'd missed Jeffrey almost as much as Batty had, she'd just refrained from saying so out of loyalty to Skye.

"He's coming in an hour?" Skye asked.

"Yep," Jane sung, looking through her closet for the perfect shirt to wear that day, "aren't you going to get ready?"

Skye flopped back down onto her pillow and muttered, "The only place I'm going is back to sleep."

...

To her utter surprise, Skye did manage to fall back asleep, waking up only when Batty delightedly began to shriek.

"He's here! He's here!"

Skye heard her footsteps rushing down the stairs, followed by Ben's not quite as loudly, and finally Lydia's slow hopping as she navigated the stairs on her own, jumping from step to step.

Skye knew she couldn't stay in bed all weekend so she slowly got up, stretching as she went to her dresser and grabbed the first shirt she could find, shoving it over her head while she grabbed a clean pair of jeans.

She bent over and gathered her light hair into a ponytail without bothering to brush it then secured it with a hair tie. As she got a pair of socks she glanced over to the mirror. The blue t-shirt she was wearing made her eyes stand out but other than that she didn't look any different than she always had. She didn't know what had made Jeffrey start seeing her differently- it definitely wasn't her appearance.

When her sneakers were on her feet she deemed herself appropriate to go downstairs, where Jeffrey was just coming in the front door, suitcase in hand. Batty and Lydia were dancing around his feet, making it difficult for him to walk while the rest of the Penderwicks were gathered around the table, half-finished plates of pancakes in front of them.

Skye grabbed a plate and filled it with warm pancakes, dumping a mountain of syrup on it before taking a seat at the table, resolutely staring anywhere but her best friend at the door.

"Jeffrey, son, it's so good to see you," her father was out of his chair and clapping Jeffrey on the back while the boy beamed. Even though he'd found Alec and now had a father figure in his life, Mr. Penderwick was the first father Jeffrey had ever known and he would never cease trying to make him proud.

Iantha was next, giving Jeffrey one of her motherly hugs and scooping up Lydia so that the teenager could enter the house without stepping on the toddler.

After the parents were out of the room, Batty and Ben danced around Jeffrey, talking so much he couldn't get a word in until they skipped outside, content to wait for him to unpack and meet them in the yard to play.

Once everyone had left it was just the three teenagers in the kitchen. They had always been close, the three musketeers, and Skye wished things had never changed. Now there was a tension between them that didn't used to exist and Jane looked at Skye for approval before launching herself at Jeffrey and capturing him in a hug.

"Jeffrey, I've missed you so much," she exclaimed while he hugged her tightly, "don't ever disappear again, no matter what Skye says."

The teasing got exactly what Jane wanted, which was for Skye to roll her eyes and come over to greet Jeffrey. Their hug was much shorter than Jane's and his had been, but it was a start.

"I've missed you all too," Jeffrey said giving Skye a shy look, "I don't think I could stay away again if I tried."

Skye rolled her eyes again, returning to her pancakes without a backward glance.

"Do you need help unpacking?" Jane asked.

"Sure," Jeffrey said, leading the way upstairs while Jane talked the whole time and he listened intently.

It was the first silence Skye had all morning and she cherished the few minutes alone. She could hear Jane and Jeffrey returning before they entered the kitchen. Both of them were laughing but it stopped as soon as they entered the kitchen and spotted Skye.

She waved her fork at them before eating the last bite of her breakfast and taking the plate over to the sink. Skye waited for Jeffrey to head out to the yard to see Batty, but he stayed right where he was.

Just as she was about to leave the kitchen, Jeffrey blurted out, "I'm really glad Batty invited me here. There's something I wanted to talk with you about and I'd rather do it in person. Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay, you dodo. We're _friends_ aren't we?" She put an extra emphasis on the word friends to make sure he understood, "Friends talk to each other."

The smile that spread across his face told Skye she'd made the right decision. Maybe all hope wasn't lost for their friendship after all.

Jeffrey glanced at Jane and Skye got the sneaking suspicion that they were going to gang up on her.

"I'll leave," Jane said, headed for the door, "you two can have some privacy."

"No, stay," Skye practically begged, "it's not private, right Jeffrey? So you can stay."

"Sure," Jeffrey said, sitting down at the table.

Skye followed, sitting across from him while Jane remained near the door. Skye turned an expectant look on Jeffrey and was surprised when his ears turned red.

"I know what you're going to say, but please just hear me out."

If he already knew her answer then it must be no.

"Jeffrey, we've been over this a hundred times, I just want to be friends," she was starting to get exasperated.

If it was possible, his face got even redder.

"I know, Skye, this is about something else."

"Oh," she felt stupid for jumping to conclusions, "then what?"

"I was wondering," he paused and looked over to Jane who gave him an encouraging nod so Jeffrey spit out in a rush, "would you come to my prom with me?"

Skye couldn't help the snort that escaped her, thinking this all a great joke, "_What_!? You can't be serious."

"Just as friends," he added.

She parroted his words back at him, "Just as _friends_? Prom is one of the most romantic high school experiences, you can't go as 'just friends'! Besides, can you honestly picture me wearing a dress and dancing all night? Not gonna happen."

Jane looked like she was about to burst from holding her tongue and not telling them all of her thoughts on prom, but when Skye glared at her she knew to keep her mouth shut.

"Last year I went with a girl as just friends and it was great," Jeffrey argued, "this year I want to go with my _bes_t friend. I've told all my friends about you, they really want to meet you."

"Then they can meet me at a soccer game or a science fair, not some dopey school dance."

"You don't even have to wear a dress," Jeffrey countered, "I don't care what you wear, I just want you to come. _Please_."

Skye didn't even have to think about her answer, "Absolutely not. I didn't even go to my own prom with all of my friends, so why would I go to yours?"

Jeffrey's face fell and Skye felt a stab of guilt but not enough for her to change her mind, "I guess I'll take someone else then," he said sadly.

Finally Jane couldn't contain herself anymore. Her joy burst out of her and she was practically bouncing as she cried, "Oh, Jeffrey! Could I go to your prom with you? Please, oh please! Just as friends of course, I mean we are friends, obviously. But don't you think it would be fun? I already have a dress and everything but I could always make one if that would work better. And then my prom is in two weeks and you could come with me to it. Wouldn't that be great? Jeffrey, what do you think?"

Jeffrey was a little overwhelmed, as he tended to be after Jane's passionate outbursts, but the enthusiasm on her face was unmistakeable and he had to admit that if he couldn't go with Skye he'd rather take Jane than anyone else.

He cast one more look at Skye, questioning. She knew exactly what he was asking and shook her head, a stubborn set to her mouth. She would not go with him.

Jeffrey turned to Jane, a smile already on his face despite Skye's rejection. He'd known her going was a long shot anyway but at least now he didn't have to find a different date.

"I would love it if you came to prom with me."

"Yay!" Jane squealed, launching herself at Jeffrey who had no choice but to catch her, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Both of them laughed as Jane disentangled herself from him while Skye watched with a look of annoyance on her face.

"Can I ask why you already have a prom dress?" Jeffrey wondered.

"Oh," Jane laughed, "A junior asked me last year when I was a sophomore and it was the only way I could go as an underclassman so I said yes and I still have my dress from that."

"Alright, well let me know what color dress you end up using and we'll coordinate. Prom is next Saturday so I'll pick you up at four and we can drive to Boston for dinner," Jeffrey said, already picturing the evening and how fun it would be.

"That sounds amazing," Jane said, spinning as she left the room, already imagining the wonder that would be next Saturday.

Jeffrey glanced at Skye out of the corner of his eye to see what she thought of his new plans but she was deliberately avoiding looking at him. Her fists were clenched and she was staring at the table so hard Jeffrey was surprised it didn't spontaneously combust.

When it became clear she wasn't going to say anything to him Jeffrey stood up from the table and went outside, where Batty was eagerly awaiting him to begin discussing her upcoming concert which had been pushed completely from his mind after all of the drama with the older Penderwicks.

Skye watched him leave without making it obvious. She longed for him to stay or maybe invite her outside for a quick game of one-on-one but instead he just shut the door gently, as if anything harder would scare her. That was the moment when she decided that as long as Jeffrey was in her house things would never be normal between them. The only logical thing to do would be to avoid him.

With a sigh Skye stood up from the table and made her way upstairs, where she knew Jeffrey wouldn't bother her even if he did come inside. Unfortunately, her room wasn't the solstice she had hoped because Jane was there, jabbering into the phone about prom that weekend.

When she saw Skye, her smile widened and she pulled the receiver away from her ear long enough to say, "Rosy's so excited for me. She even said she'd come home next weekend to help me get ready. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, great," Skye wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not but it didn't matter because Jane had turned her attention back to the phone and didn't notice a thing Skye did.

Skye let out a sigh and stood up, picking up her calculus book and heading out to her favorite spot on the roof. Even with math to distract her she could tell it was going to be a long week.

...

Skye was absolutely right in her prediction about the week. All Jane talked about was prom and all Batty talked about was getting to see Jeffrey again. Skye took to spending her time with the youngest Penderwick. Lydia was the only person with whom Skye didn't have to talk about Jeffrey or prom or anything that mattered.

By the time Saturday came, Skye was so sick of hearing about Jeffrey that she had even volunteered to take Lydia to the playground as a way to escape the house. They left after lunch and by two o'clock Skye was seriously regretting her decision to spend her afternoon with the two year old.

"Come on, Lydia, we have to go home. It's time for your nap."

The little girl shook her head emphatically, "Lydia wants to stay here."

"Too bad," Skye grumbled, scooping up the redhead who began to scream, "Lydia, stop," she commanded which only made her sister cry harder.

Skye rolled her eyes as she balanced Lydia on her hip and began the walk back to the car.

"Don't you want to see Jeffrey?" Skye asked.

His name piqued Lydia's interest and she stopped crying and just stared at Skye with her big brown eyes, "Jeffrey comin'?"

Skye nodded, "Yep. If you're a good girl and take a nap I bet when you wake up he'll be there."

This news excited Lydia so much that she completely forgot about the playground and instead began thinking about Jeffrey. She was so excited that she wouldn't let Skye take her out of the car seat when they reached the house. It took ten minutes of cajoling to get her out and once she was in the house Lydia had no desire to take a nap. Skye eventually had to get Batty to convince their youngest sister to go to sleep and by the time everything was settled it was nearly four in the afternoon.

"Jane?" Skye called, standing at the door of their room, "Are you almost ready?"

"No," she hollered back and Skye heard a muffled bang from their room. She had absolutely no desire to see what had become of her tidy part of the room during this chaos.

"Skye?" Rosalind called from inside the room, "Is that you?"

Her older sister's head popped out and she pulled Skye into a quick hug.

Rosalind smiled at her younger sister and said, "I haven't seen you all day."

Before Skye could respond, Jane was yelling from inside the room, "Rosy, I need you! We have to finish doing my hair. Jeffrey will be here any minute!"

Rosalind gave Skye an apologetic smile before disappearing back into their bedroom. Skye caught a glance of Jane and was shocked to see that she wasn't dressed yet. Her makeup was done to perfection but pins were spilling out of her thick hair from the part Rosalind had tried to pull back. Her lavender prom dress was thrown over her bed and Jane was wearing a flannel shirt and pair of shorts. She looked absolutely ridiculous.

Before Skye could voice her thoughts the doorbell rang and Jane shrieked.

"He's here! I'm not ready yet. Skye, you have to stall him."

"Why me?" Skye demanded, "Why can't Batty do it?"

"Batty's helping me with my dress and Rosalind is doing my hair."

The doorbell rang again and Jane's panicked voice called out, "Please, Skye."

"Fine," Skye grumbled and rolled her eyes as she trudged down the stairs.

She threw open the front door without thinking and said, "Jane's not ready yet you'll have to wait."

"Oh, okay," Jeffrey said quietly and Skye looked at him for the first time.

Her breath hitched. He was wearing a tuxedo and his hair was the most tame Skye had ever seen it. His green eyes were bright and his freckles stood out on his pale face. His smile was what made him truly handsome though. He was grinning at her while standing in the doorway, a box with flowers in one hand while he used the other to adjust his tie.

Skye didn't realize how long she'd been staring at him until he cleared his throat and said, "Um, could I come in?"

Skye mentally cursed herself for her stupidity, but to Jeffrey she said, "You don't have to ask. You're an honorary Penderwick, remember?"

"Oh, I just thought my good looks had rendered you speechless," he teased as he walked past her and into the house.

Instantly the compliments Skye had been about to say dried up and instead what came out was a snort and, "You look like a penguin."

Hurt flitted across Jeffrey's face but didn't stay.

Skye still felt bad so to soften the blow she added, "That's okay though, because Jane loves penguins."

Jeffrey gave her a halfhearted smile as he sat down at the table and placed his package on it.

"What's that?" Skye pointed at the case with flowers in it, desperate to change the subject.

"It's a corsage," he told her, "for- for Jane."

"Oh."

The two friends sat in silence for a little bit before Skye jumped up and said, "I should go check on Jane."

"It's really okay," Jeffrey told her, "I don't mind waiting."

But Skye shook her head and left the room, making it to the living room just as Jane appeared at the top of the stairs. Jane really did look lovely. The lavender color was perfect for her and her shimmery makeup paired with her room-brightening smile gave the allusion that she was truly glowing. Her hair, which she'd worn shorter ever since that fateful summer at Point Mouette, was a curly halo framing her face with half of it pulled back in twists and braids done by Rosalind. She looked absolutely stunning.

"Jeffrey, she's ready," Skye called.

The boy entered the room and when his eyes found Jane his whole face lit up.

"You look amazing," he told her.

"Thanks," Jane beamed as she came down the stairs, "you don't look too bad yourself," she teased him.

Jeffrey met her at the bottom of the stairs and gave her the corsage while Jane beamed the whole time. After that, Iantha and their father were there, taking as many pictures as possible. Skye tried to block out everything, not sure why she felt so sour that day. As soon as the pictures were done Jeffrey and Jane were ready to leave.

"Jeffrey," Mr. Penderwick called out as he reached the door, "I appreciate you bringing Jane back later tonight but there's no way I'll allow you to drive back to Boston again after such a long night. You'll stay here tonight and that's an order."

A small smile appeared on Jeffrey's face and he gave a mock salute and a "Yes, sir," before ushering Jane out the door.

Once they were gone, Skye took a relieved breath. Everything with Jeffrey felt so awkward and forced now, at least with Jane he would have a good time at his prom. If Skye had gone she was sure that the night would end with both of them upset. Jeffrey couldn't keep his feelings to himself and Skye wouldn't change her mind.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Rosalind said, pulling Skye back to the present.

"What?" the blonde said, then processed the question, "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just tired."

"Are you sure?"

Skye hesitated. She'd never been able to lie to her older sister. Rosalind always saw through it. Sometimes it felt like Rosy knew her sister's emotions better than Skye did.

"I think so," Skye replied, "honestly, I'm not sure."

Rosalind stood up, "Come on, let's go upstairs."

Skye followed her older sister up to her room where Rosalind began to clean up the makeup and hair supplies that Jane had left strewn all over the place.

After a few minutes of silence, Rosy turned to Skye, "What's wrong? And don't say it's nothing, I know you better than that."

Skye sighed and sat down on her bed, "I don't know," she admitted, "I just feel really sad. I'm not sure why. Nothing happened."

"Okay, don't snap at me," Rosalind started, prompting Skye to roll her eyes, "but does this have anything to do with Jeffrey taking Jane to prom?"

Skye snorted, "Why would I care about that?"

"I don't know, seeing them earlier, it seems like they're going to have a lot of fun tonight. Part of me wishes I could go with them."

"If I wanted to go I could have," Skye informed her, "he asked me first you know."

Rosalind nodded, "Jane told me that. You don't have a problem with her going with Jeffrey, do you?"

"No!" Skye almost screamed, frustration evident in her tone, "At least I didn't think I would. But after seeing them tonight, I don't know. Maybe."

"Do you wish you'd said yes to him?"

Skye thought for a minute, truly trying to figure out what she felt, "Part of me does. Seeing him all dressed up like that made me realize just what I'm missing out on. I love hanging out with him and I know we would have had fun tonight, but I know if I went he would try to turn it into something more, and I don't want that."

Rosalind ran a hand through her dark curls, trying to understand, "But why don't you want that, Skye? Jeffrey is an amazing guy and he's head over heels for you, everyone can see that. Would it really be so bad if you gave him a chance?"

"He doesn't need a chance!" Skye exploded, "Why can't he just leave things alone. We were perfect before he opened his big mouth. Our friendship was great so I don't know why he had to try and make it more. He was my best friend, why wasn't that enough?"

"Maybe he cares about you too much to only be friends. There are so many wonderful things you get from being in a relationship that you don't get when you're just friends." Rosalind explained.

"I don't need a kissing partner," Skye said.

Rosalind rolled her eyes at her sister, "I'm not just talking about the physical stuff. When you're in a relationship you always have someone to talk to, someone who will drop everything to be there for you no matter what, someone who will always put you first, someone who knows you inside and out and would do anything to make you happy. And if that person happens to be your best friend too then you're incredibly lucky. Why can't Jeffrey be your kissing partner and your best friend, Skye? What would be so wrong with that?"

Skye didn't answer but Rosalind remained silent, waiting.

Finally Skye looked up at her sister, and said in a whisper, "What if it didn't work out? If we tried having a relationship and it didn't work then I would lose my best friend. I couldn't handle that. If we stay just friends then I don't have to worry about losing him."

Rosalind smiled sadly, "Skye, you've already lost him. You're friendship hasn't been the same since you rejected him. The two of you have hardly spoken in weeks. Don't you miss how things used to be?"

"Well, yeah, but what if-"

"What if everything worked out? You could be happier than you've ever been before. Why won't you even consider that?"

Skye looked down again, unable to meet her sister's eyes as she admitted something she never had before, "Because I'm scared."

Rosalind stayed silent as Skye continued, "I'm so scared of losing him, Rosy. I'd rather have our friendship be half of what it used to be than not have him in my life at all. I know I'll always have him as a friend, but if we take it farther then I don't know what will happen, and that terrifies me."

Rosalind raised her eyebrows and spoke so loudly she made her sister jump, "Skye Penderwick, when have you ever let fear stop you from doing something?" Before Skye could answer, Rosalind had continued, "Never! You've always been the boldest Penderwick. You do things I would never have the guts to do. You do what you want regardless of whether you're scared. It's one of the best things about you." Rosalind stood up from the bed and asked, "Answer honestly: do you want to be with Jeffrey?"

Skye barely hesitated before saying, "Yes."

"Then what's stopping you? And don't say it's fear."

"I don't want to be scared anymore," Skye declared, "I want to be with Jeffrey."

"Then we need to get you to Boston."

…

Skye jumped up from her bed, "You're right, let's go."

Rosalind followed her slowly, "You're ready to go, just like that? You've been pushing Jeffrey away for years and now you're ready to just go?"

"I have to do it before I lose my nerve," Skye explained.

"Alright then, but there's no way I'm letting you go dressed like that."

"Rosy, we don't have time for this. Jeffrey won't care what I'm wearing."

Skye tried to push her way through the door but was blocked by the brunette.

"It's not about Jeffrey. You're going to a prom, Skye. You have to dress up nice or there's no way you'll get in."

"I don't have anything to wear to a prom," Skye gestured to her closet which was filled with t-shirts and jeans, not a skirt in sight, "and I am not borrowing one of Jane's ridiculous dresses."

Rosalind thought for a minute before grabbing her sister's hand, "I have an idea."

She pulled Skye out of the room and upstairs to the Penderwick's crowded attic.

"I don't think there's a prom dress up here, Rosy."

"No, but there might be something better. I remember Mommy wearing a beautiful dress for her and Daddy's tenth anniversary. They went to a super fancy restaurant and afterward she promised to save her dress for us someday. I'm certain it got put up here."

Rosalind began digging through tubs while Skye watched, looking skeptical. Just when Skye was about to sneak downstairs Rosalind let out a triumphant cry and turned to her sister, holding out the dress.

It was perfect. Floor-length and royal blue but simple. There were no embellishments or sparkles, it was very understated but still the nicest thing Skye had ever seen. She loved it.

Skye wasted no time and grabbed the dress, hurrying back her room and throwing it on. She tried to bolt out the door but Rosalind stopped her, practically pinning her down to apply makeup and pull her hair back into a braid.

Thirty minutes later Skye was ready to go.

"Am I making a mistake?" she asked her sister, nervously chewing on her lip and undoing the lipstick Rosalind had applied.

Rosalind smiled at her, "The only mistake would be not going."

"Thanks, Rosy." Skye pulled her sister into a quick hug before running out of the house and jumping into Flashvan. She started the car and pulled out of the driveway. There was no turning back now.

...

The drive to Boston seemed to fly by, and in no time at all Skye was pulling up in front of the hotel where Jeffrey's prom was.

She'd thought the hard part would be finding the dance and then getting inside, but that had proved all too easy. As soon as Skye entered the lobby she spotted a couple clearly dressed for prom and followed them to the ballroom. Without a ticket Skye had been certain they wouldn't let her in, but because she was so late the doors were unguarded and Skye easily snuck into the dance.

In her hurry to get out of the house, she'd completely forgotten her phone so she was unable to call Jeffrey. She'd just have to find him the old-fashioned way.

Skye began pushing her way though the crowd, looking for the familiar mop of brown hair. She made her way completely around the room and still didn't see Jeffrey. She was about to give up when she noticed what was happening on the dance floor.

A small crowd was dancing to the beat, and there in the middle was a pretty girl in a lilac dress, seemingly dancing with four boys at once and holding the attention of all of them. Skye recognized her sister immediately and made a beeline toward her.

Jane spun in a circle, laughing at something one of the guys told her. She caught sight of Skye, and her smile grew even more.

Jane broke free from her admirers and hurried to her sister, pulling her into a hug.

"I can't believe you're here! Isn't this just magical? It's been the perfect night, and now that you're here it's only going to get better! What are you doing here by the way? And how did you get here? And whose dress are you wearing? It's _beautiful_!"

Skye knew Jane could go on like this for another ten minutes but she had more important things to do.

"Where's Jeffrey?"

"What?" Jane was thrown off by Skye completely changing the subject.

"Where's Jeffrey? I need to see him," Skye explained.

"I don't know."

"Jane, how could you not know? He brought you here, didn't he? You should know where he is!"

"All I know is that he introduced me to his friends, we danced a few times, then he said he needed some air. He was probably moping because he got stuck taking me when everyone knew he wanted you to come with him." Jane didn't shout but Skye felt as if she'd been slapped.

This was Jeffrey's senior prom. It was supposed to be one of the best nights of high school and he was spending it alone and miserable and it was all her fault.

Skye tried to push down all her emotions, not knowing what exactly she was feeling. Guilt for sure, frustration at Jane for not being helpful, and above everything else, just a desire to see Jeffrey. To talk and laugh with her best friend and for things to finally, finally be normal between them again. And maybe not normal, maybe something even better than their old normal.

Skye glanced around the ballroom and spotted multiple exits. Several of them were on the opposite side of the room from where she had entered. She hoped one of them led somewhere outside.

"I'm going to go look for Jeffrey," Skye informed her sister.

"Want me to come with you?" Jane asked.

Skye shook her head, "This is something I need to do by myself."

A hopeful glint appeared in Jane's eye and Skye could see her sister coming up with all sorts of outlandish ideas of what Skye was about to do. Skye mentally rolled her eyes before turning away from Jane and walking across the room to one of the doors. When she got there, she glanced back and saw that Jane was once again on the dance floor. She looked like she belonged there and Skye couldn't help watching her for another minute. There was something so magnetic about Jane, so why hadn't Jeffrey chosen her? Skye couldn't help but wonder what had made someone as wonderful as Jeffrey want to be with someone like her. She gave Jane one last glance before turning and making her way across the room to the nearest exit.

...

She saw him as soon as she stepped outside. He was the only one standing there, looking out at the city lights spread before him, his back to Skye.

She could turn around. He hadn't noticed her yet and there was still time for her to turn around and pretend none of this had happened. As soon as that thought crossed her mind Skye realized she didn't want that. These last few weeks without him had been the worst of her life, and sure started something with Jeffrey could be the biggest mistake of her life, but it just might turn into the best thing she ever did. Skye took a deep breath, gathering her courage before stepping forward.

"Hey," she said softly.

Jeffrey turned and then froze when he recognized her.

"Skye?" he asked, taking in her appearance. He didn't seem to recognize her and Skye wasn't sure if it was the darkness or the fact that he'd never seen her in a dress before.

She took another step closer.

"What are you doing here?" he wondered, "I thought you didn't want to come."

"I didn't," she admitted, closing the distance between them, "but when I saw you earlier, I don't know. I can't really explain it, but I realized I didn't want to miss this. I wanted to be here. I wanted to be with you," she realized her mistake in using the past tense and reached down and grabbed his hand, "I _want_ to be with you."

Skye had thought he would be overjoyed at hearing this. It was what he had been wanting for months now, but instead he took a step back.

"I can't keep doing this, Skye."

"Doing what?"

"_This_," he gestured dramatically between the two of them, "chasing after you just to get my heart broken again and again. I tried to respect your boundaries, Skye. But then you show up here and say things like that and I just don't know what to do. I don't know what else you want from me."

He looked absolutely defeated by the end of his speech and Skye felt her own heart break in response. She had caused this. She had no clue what to do and she knew that nothing she could say would fix what she had broken. Instead of saying anything, she took a step forward and kissed him.

Jeffrey was too surprised to kiss her back. Skye pulled away and looked up, meeting his green eyes with her blue ones.

"What was that?" he whispered, still shocked.

"It's pretty clear what it was."

Slowly a smile spread its way across Jeffrey's face.

"You're sure this is what you want?" he asked, looking as if he couldn't believe it.

Skye nodded, "I've wanted you for a long time, I was just too stubborn to see it."

"That I believe," Jeffrey said with a laugh.

Skye looked up, her blue eyes brighter than Jeffrey had ever seen them, "Is it too late? Did I mess things up between us?"

Jeffrey grabbed her hand pulling her closer, "Of course not. There's nothing you could ever do that would make me stop loving you."

It was the best thing he could have said. Skye couldn't take it anymore and closed the last few centimeters between them. This time, Jeffrey kissed her back and in that moment Skye knew this was her home, here in his arms.

Jeffrey finally pulled away, "Should we go back inside?"

Skye wanted nothing more than to stay on the balcony and kiss Jeffrey some more, but she knew how important this night was to him.

She nodded and he reached down and entwined his fingers with hers. As he led her inside Skye thought how right this felt. Never had she been more glad to be at a school dance.

As she thought this, she couldn't help but smile because she knew that this was only the beginning. They would have countless other nights like this and the best was yet to come.


End file.
